Archive for November, 2005
AdWeek magazine is reporting that design is the new frontier for marketers:
"In the past five years, design has climbed to the front of the American consciousness, and people not only expect form-beyond-function in public spaces, but they want stylish products to bring into their homes. As part of this new preoccupation, a growing number of clients are looking to design-centric brands for inspiration, specifically, Apple’s small (and getting smaller) miracle. From the iPod’s shape and size to its advertising, packaging and point of sale, it is a modern marketing marvel that other advertisers are looking to emulate."
Makes perfect sense, considering the intensely crowded product marketplace. When you’re out shopping for a commodity good, like hand soap, what helps you make a decision on which product to buy?
- Price? Maybe, if there were significant price differences, like one bottle for $5 and another for $2.
- Quality? How can you really tell by looking at the product on the shelf? Also, if it’s something like soap, where quality doesn’t differ greatly between products, how important is the quality?
- Brand? The brand might give me an indication of quality, and if it’s a familiar one, it might give me a reassurance that the product is going to perform well. But what helps define the brand and make it memorable?
That’s right–it’s design.
In our humble opinion, design helps to elevate products–from portable music devices like the iPod to basic consumer packaged goods like soap–above the masses. Faced with so many choices, consumers (ourselves included) need quick, easy cues to help us make buying decisions. And great product design goes beyond providing those easy visual cues, as it also can make product use easier.
That’s our two cents. What do you think?
What do you look for when making a product purchase? And does design play a role in your purchasing decision?
November 14th, 2005
Birkin, Balenciaga, Botkier, Bulga…Anyone tired of hearing the same old status bag names over and over again?
We went on a recent handbag hunt to find a status bag that doesn’t scream "I WANT TO BE COOL" but rather a purse that would garner quiet but notable attention and give off that "I’m money but way too classy to flash it in your face" feel. These purses may cost you a pretty penny, but they’ll be worth it once everyone stops you to ask, "Whose bag are you wearing?"
Tory by TRB Velvet Logo Tote $298 at Tory
Hayden-Harnett Lorca Flap Demi Bag
with Clyde Tassel in Bronze $273 at Luna Boston
Paige Haircalf Hobo in Chocolate/Cream $575 at
Cole Haan
November 14th, 2005
Issue XVI of the Friday Fashion Hotlist: a weekly compilation of the cutest and coolest stuff Style Intelligence Report saw out there this week.
This week, we turned up an adorably cute dress (holiday party, anyone?) for women, and a biker-chic pair of men’s pants.
For women…
We love (1) the perfectly-on trend (and generally flattering) color, (2) the pintucking, and (3) the beaded appliqué. Pair it with a cream colored shawl, and you’ll be ready for an evening out on the town!
And for men…
Roman Kapadia "Pit Pants" | $259 at Guyshop
We’re strong believers in the beauty in the Details, and by that measure, this pair of pants has beauty to spare. Between the grommets, the seam detailing, and the back zippers, Kapadia’s "Pit Pants" strikes a balance between trendiness and utility.
November 11th, 2005
We’re huge fans of Restoration Hardware, having fallen in love years ago with their signature Silver Sage paint.
So in keeping with our Home Shopping mini-series, we shopped Restoration Hardware to bring to you the best home goods the store has to offer. We chose items that allow you to give your home a makeover not by changing its entire wardrobe, but rather by adding some choice accessories.
Presenting our top five "Quick Fix for the Holidays" picks:
A great-looking throw will spruce up any ho-hum couch. The Isabella throw is only available in Maize (the yellow color shown on the left), but it’s discounted from an original price of $129. We like the garnet too, but the maize color works beautifully with a chocolate brown.
This bar tool set is perfect for parties, and it exudes a classiness reminiscent of 1930s Hollywood.
Distort reality with these simply fascinating mirrors. Small (19") is $129, Medium (23") is $329, and Large (32") is $429.
Great as a personal scrapbook + room divider, all in one! If you want something smaller scale, try the Memo Board instead.
The striped pillow cover is $35, but the other two (medallion and damask) check in at $40. Pillow inserts are sold for $14.
November 10th, 2005
We’ll close this series with the line in the SF Gate article that we found particularly interesting. Lois Huff, senior vice president for Retail Forward, a market research firm, noted that “The idea of disposable as opposed to building a wardrobe is more popular now.”
Interesting idea, but we don’t think it’s a black and white issue. As with everything in life, there are shades of grey, and while people certainly aren’t meticulously building a static wardrobe, the average consumer is likely not replacing the entire closet each season (or every couple of seasons) with cheap chic clothes.
Our wardrobe advice? First build a solid foundation of good quality clothes. On top of that foundation, you can then have some fun with cheap chic, disposable fashion. Buy the cute, but cheap uber-cropped jacket that will last till the end of the season. Buy the slim tailored wool pants whose quality will elevate the look of everything you pair with it.
But know what to invest in and what to buy on the cheap, as that’s the key to a balanced wardrobe.
Need help? That’s what we’re here for. Leave a message, or shoot us an email at styleintelligence at gmail dot com!
November 9th, 2005
In Part I of this article, we discussed the basics of so-called cheap chic fashion: what it is, and why it’s so appealing. Now that we have a background on why cheap chic is gaining popularity, we can discuss what it may mean from both a consumer and business perspective.
Consumer Perspective:
- More clothes, less overall quality. Cheap chic, with its lower quality standards, leads to the wearing of clothes for a season or less, for so-called “disposable fashion.”
- Reinforced acceleration of trends. Fashion information is moving faster, and so are physical items of clothing. The average time it used to take between the start and end of a trend used to be measured in years. Now, fashion trends come and go in months.
- Challenge: Keep up with the speed of fashion. Since fashion trends are now measured in months, not years, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the speed of fashion. More information sources will pop up (such as this blog) to keep people informed as to what’s in and what’s out.
- Personal Style more important. As average consumers gain access to a larger number of garments and trends (due to the “cheap” in the chic), the idea of personal style is going to become more paramount. Now, anyone with a copy of Lucky magazine and access to H&M can deck themselves out head-to-toe in the latest trend. Is this true style? We think not. Fashion forward individuals will need to look for new means of expressing their style and individuality, be it through unique combinations of garments, status accessories, clothing alterations, or something else.
- Importance of Editing. With so many trends flying around, one of the most important skills to have will be the ability to edit down the season’s trends to those that fit one’s personal style, lifestyle, and body type. Those that cannot or choose not to edit might fall under the…
- New definition of “Fashion Victim.” Fashion Victims have traditionally been those who slavishly follow trends. They might wear one designer head to toe, or they might combine two or more contrasting trends into one outfit. But a new classification will likely emerge: the fashion victim as one who hops along after each fast-moving trend, trying to wear each look before it goes out of style. She’s the girl who doesn’t just keep up with what’s happening with fashion–she actually tries to wear Everything that’s new and stylish.
Business Perspective:
- Improved supply chains needed. Companies like Zara have long been proponents of a supply chain based on the idea of postponing each production decision to the last possible moment to preserve production flexibility. Why postponement? It allows the retailer to more accurately forecast demand for a particular style good. Estimating December demand for a wool coat, for instance, would be easier and more accurate to do in November than it would be in June.
- Need to address human rights issue. Cheap comes at a price, and it’s often at the cost of third-world garment workers. Sweatshops are an industrywide problem, unless something drastic is done, the human rights violations that they cause will likely only get worse with the growing popularity of cheap chic fashion.
Check back later today for our last post in this series, where we’ll be touch on wardrobe building in an era of disposable fashion.
November 9th, 2005
Thanks, Mat, for sending us an article from SFGate on cheap chic fashion.
Our first take? Interesting article, but while H&M might be bringing the cheap chic phenomenon to the fashion forefront in San Francisco with its November 19 opening, the idea is anything but new.
Forever 21, Zara, H&M, Mango, and others have been playing in this space for over a decade. However, it wasn’t until 2000 that the US womenswear market got a real taste of the cheap chic trend, when H&M opened its doors in New York.
We’ve got a lot to say on the topic of cheap chic fashion, as it’s near and dear to our hearts and closets. To make reading more manageable, we’re going to split our thoughts into three posts.
In Part I, we’ll go back to basics and discuss what cheap chic fashion is as well as why it’s so appealing. In Part II, we’ll dig deeper and tackle what cheap chic means from both a consumer and a business perspective. And in Part III, we’ll touch on wardrobe building in an era of disposable clothing.
What is cheap chic fashion?
Just what it sounds like–moderate to discount priced clothing that, due to its trend value, quickly moves from the runway to production to the retail floor to consumers’ closets. Clothing is generally merchandised from an item-based, rather than a collection-based perspective.
Retailers like H&M and Zara, who specialize in this cheap chic phenomenon, move new goods into the stores on a daily to weekly basis to replace the items being sold. From a business perspective, this means producing a greater variety of styles, but each in a lower quantity.
Consider it the opposite of the traditional retail model, which has a retailer like Gap producing a set collection for each season. Instead of item-based merchandising, we see items being sold as part of a greater collection. When consumers buy merchandise, the shelves are replenished with more of the same clothes. Here, there exists less variety in styles, but each style is produced in a higher quantity.
Why is cheap chic so appealing? Two reasons:
- For one, it’s cheap. You can afford to buy a greater variety and number of items. The inherent flexibility here, combined with the American create-your-own-look individualism is extremely powerful.
- Secondly, it’s a logical outgrowth of the acceleration of fashion information. We’re getting our trend information faster and faster these days. We used to have to wait for fashion magazines to publish information on the latest runway shows. Now, with websites like NY Metro (same day coverage) and Style.com (next day coverage), the wait time is almost negligible. As fashion information moves faster, trends accelerate. The next logical step in the chain is for fashion garments themselves to move faster, and that’s precisely what’s happening through cheap chic fashion.
November 8th, 2005
Great tailoring details–notched collar, center back vent, inner welt pocket, and a covered placket closure at center front. And you can’t beat the price for this quality.
Theory "Delano" Long Coat | $795 at Nordstrom
Made of merino wool, this coat is soft, sleek, and streamlined. A great way to face the winter months.
Toggle Coats Rock. But besides the toggles, we love the hoodie and the handwarmer pockets (great for shielding yourself from adverse weather) and the tailored seamlines.
What can we say, Military is still Hot for Fall/Winter. We love the epaulets and the oversized pockets with hardware detailing on this coat.
This is a peacoat with an edge–and a distinctive look that makes it look like another coat genre altogether. We appreciate the wide collar and the foldover snap placket over the front zipper. Look for the rivet detailing on the side pockets and chest snap pocket.
November 8th, 2005
Over the weekend, we searched high and low for the perfect men’s mini messenger bag, a reader request from Mat.
To use Mat’s description, we were looking for a small day bag that was, "Casual, but still clean, versatile and understated." We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
So without further ado, we’re pleased to present to you our top four man bag options. Note that each comes in a variety of colors that ranges from classic to trendy–you’re not limited to the colors shown here.
November 7th, 2005
Issue XV of the Friday Fashion Hotlist: a weekly compilation of the cutest and coolest stuff Style Intelligence Report saw out there this week.
This week, we searched high and low for stylish, but utilitarian bags for work. Check out what we found!
For women…
The straps, the hardware, the shape–we love everything about this bag. We think that the nipped in strapline gives this tote a little something extra. It’s roomy enough to hold your papers, books, art supplies, cell phone, PDA, iPod…and it’s stylish to boot!
And for men…
We love both the strap detailing as well as the hardware elements. This tote perfectly complements the utility-conscious look of the season.
November 4th, 2005
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